Lithospheric structure and compensation mechanisms of the Galápagos Archipelago

Abstract

Volcanic islands of the Galápagos Archipelago are the most recent subaerial expression of the Galápagos hotspot. These islands and numerous seamounts are constructed mainly upon a broad volcanic platform that overlies very young (<10 m.y.) oceanic lithosphere just south of the active Galápagos Spreading Center. The 91°W fracture zone crosses the platform and creates an estimated 5‐m.y. age discontinuity in the lithosphere. Major tectonic features of the Galápagos include an unusually broad distribution of volcanic centers, pronounced structural trends such as the NW‐SE Wolf‐Darwin Lineament (WDL), and a steep escarpment along the western and southern margins of the archipelago. We use shipboard gravity and bathymetry data along with Geosat geoid data to explain the tectonic and structural evolution of the Galápagos region. We model the gravity anomalies using a variety of compensation models, including Airy isostasy, continuous elastic flexure of the lithosphere, and an elastic plate with embedded weaknesses, and we infer significant lithospheric strength variations across the archipelago. The outboard parts of the southern and western escarpment are flexurally supported with an effective elastic thickness of ∼12 km. This area includes the large shield volcanoes of Fenandina and Isabela Islands, where the lithosphere regionally supports these volcanic loads. The central platform is weaker, with an elastic thickness of 6 km or less, and close to Airy isostasy. The greatest depths to the Moho are located beneath eastern Isabela Island and the central platform. Thinner lithosphere in this region may account for the broad distribution of volcanoes, the extended period of eruption of the central volcanoes, and their reduced size. The transition from strong to weak lithosphere along the southern escarpment appears to be abrupt, within the resolution of our models, and can be best represented by a free end or faultlike discontinuity. Also, modeling the WDL as a lithospheric fault increases the match to the observed gravity anomalies. The primary feature is the weak central platform, whose existence is a logical convergence of several factors: the 91°W transform/age offset, the possible increase in age of the lithosphere along the southern part of the platform due to ridge jumping, and the formation of the central platform at a spreading ridge.